A/N: Thanks so much for the hits in Priceless, Worthless, Nonsense, everyone! They made me troll! Now I've been thinking of this plot since Christmas, and loved it. So comes the second story of V-OBLIQUE with the following question: what if there had been a Mr. Pumpkin for hachi's widowed pumpkin pie maker down the street?
Disclaimer: Yu-Gi-Oh! trademark is the copyright of Kazuki Takahashi, Hatsune Miku of Crypton Future Media, and no Kokkei na Yume of hachi.
Theme #2:
Beneath a Heedless Moon
Inspired by Hatsune Miku's no Kokkei na Yume
"Come 'ere."
Yuugi blinked. Before him stood one goat-headed man, holding a turnip in front of his torso. And it was that turnip that spoke. "Come 'ere, I said!"
Yuugi started meekly, "M…me?"
"Is there anyone else?" said the turnip with an impatient tone. "How am I supposed to preside without you, eh?"
"Preside?" repeated Yuugi, feeling his gut harden with discomfort.
The turnip fumed red—very strange, this turnip—as it growled, "Just get here already!"
Flinching, Yuugi stepped forward, and the darkness surrounding him began to color, though very bleakly, in grays, whites, and stale oranges.
He found Anzu at his side, her hair bizarrely dyed orange, with streaks of black and traces of the original brown. She beamed at him, whispering, "So glad we're doing this."
Yuugi scratched his head, "What do you mean?"
"You may kiss the pumpkin bride," said the turnip, still perched on the goat-man's hand.
Before Yuugi could register the meaning, Anzu's hand clasped over his cheeks and pressed kisses all over his face, ending with a smack on the lips that had Yuugi in a momentary trance. Above them rained confetti, and from behind them the cheers of those who witnessed the wedding kiss.
Yuugi gawked at Anzu, "You married me?"
She shrugged. "You said you liked me, and I said I wanted a husband."
Yuugi gulped. When had he confessed to Anzu? Not even Yami knew of these emotions (though suggested accurately that such existed). He began to protest, "I never said anything about wanting to be your husband."
Some gasps, and Yuugi felt a hit against his forehead. "Idiot!" shouted the turnip. "What's done is done; get on with it! On to the reception with ya!"
"Recep—" Anzu's beam rendered him motionless and unable to escape her hold as they stomped their matching boots over the ragged carpet and into a bleak square. The sides were lined with neglected buildings, and the smell of niter crept under Yuugi's nose.
Anzu dragged him immediately to the center, and held both hands, skipping her feet to the claps of their wedding audience. "La lu la," they chanted, "la lu la! Cry! Cry! We'll never bore! Ah, Missus Pumpkin! Savior; we'll never bore!"
Yuugi tentatively allowed Anzu to lead the dance, and she polkaed them along the cobbled brick square…and felt his body bump against another.
"Ah, the Missus Pumpkin," Yuugi judged by voice and tailcoat, for his was the head of a jack-o'-lantern. He pulled Anzu brusquely away from Yuugi's hold and wound his long, thin arms round her waist. "You never bore me."
Yuugi's cheek twitched when Anzu ran a finger down his rounded, orange cheek. "Rascal." She turned her head to Yuugi. "My childhood friend, Jack."
The words sparked Yuugi. It was not possible; he was Anzu's childhood friend! He answered, with clenched teeth, "A pleasure."
"An honor," Jack took hold of Yuugi's hands and bowed, "to be serving a family under your headship."
"Family?" Anzu laughed. "We just got married! Besides, Jack, you're family!"
"At least he knows his place," grumbled another voice behind Yuugi's shoulder. Yelping, he found a scarecrow, his body almost pillowed against the floor. "What shall be served?"
"Pumpkins, master scarecrow!"cried Jack, "Pumpkins, pumpkins, pumpkins, a wedding cake smothered in them!"
"You sadist!" mourned the scarecrow, and he staggered away.
Jack chuckled, "I have no say to such a menu; the bride's our only cook!" He turned to Yuugi, "Will you come with me for a moment?"
Fearing Anzu's disappointment, Yuugi nodded, and his arm was clutched, harshly, and he was dragged onto the sidewalk, nearly tripping over the cracked pavement. Jack thrust Yuugi against a wall hidden from the partygoers, and trapped him there, however with no malice.
"What are you—" Yuugi gasped. The jack-o'-lantern was pulled off, revealing Yami's eyes, dark and defiant. "Y-Yami!"
"Shh!" Yuugi then felt Yami's moist tongue against his ear. "They must not know. They must never know!"
"How could you give me to Anzu, then?" Yuugi leaned against Yami's hunched shoulders, wrapping his hands round Yami's hair. There came the urgent need to kiss him, and he refrained. "Why didn't you stop them?"
"How could I?" whispered Yami, "I stepped into this world barely knowing any more than you did. I didn't even make it to the wedding."
"How did everything turn out like this?"
"I don't know. But we must escape. One way or the other." Yuugi allowed Yami to lead him away from the square, deeper and deeper into the suburb. It was always a foreboding when Yami fretted. And when Yami knew nothing, Yuugi could presume without question that they were not safe alone. Even worse was when they were discovered together.
"The street is empty," Yami pulled Yuugi into a clearing, and he stood along a quiet road lined with one-storey houses, all bland in color. He eyed the square a good distance off. Yami put his jack-o'-lantern back on. "We'll run to the other side, find a place that can lead us out."
"Why didn't we take Anzu along?" asked Yuugi.
"She would not have wanted it. She is not our friend Anzu." They sped away from the square, and Yuugi could hear a voice calling for a group. He whimpered for a moment, and Yami panted, "It's okay. I won't let them have you."
Yuugi opened his eyes. He sat up on the bed, felt for his puzzle. He held it, shook it. Yami came out, wiping his sweaty face. "Did it really happen?"
"You marrying Anzu and I wearing a pumpkin on my head?" Yami said, and nodded. "How we were able to leave, however…"
Yuugi could only remember lying down with a laughing Anzu closing a door over him. He shuddered at the thought of being buried alive, but for now, he was alright.
With Yami, not Anzu, he was alright.
He looked out the window, and froze. Though his room was exactly similar, the view outside was of the square, and the faint sound of organ music.
He turned to Yami, who had in his hands the jack-o'-lantern. He smiled, bitterly. "I'm sorry."
Yuugi forced himself to smile. With Yami, not Anzu, he was alright.
